Return of the Lake Monster
by whyyouackinsocraycray
Summary: A continuation of Curse of the Lake Monster. The gang, now officially donned Mystery Incorporated, begins to recuperate from the events in the cave. But, when strange things begin to happen and the gang is forced to look deeper into the town's history, they realize that the mystery has just begun.
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note_****_: I thought of this story while watching Curse of the Lake Monster, when a few questions came to mind: How did Velma get out of the cave if they needed scuba gear and she didn't have any? Did they continue to work at the country club, even after they were given the ten thousand dollars? How did the events that took place in the movie affect the gang's relationship with Velma? If the settlers touched the moonstones, then why didn't they get possessed? I figured that the best way to answer those questions was to write a story, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it!_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Scooby-Doo_**

"Maybe we're just better off being friends," Shaggy said. Velma nodded in agreement.

"You know what? Maybe we all are." Daphne said, glancing at Fred.

"Yeah," he agreed putting his arm around Velma and pulling her into a hug.

"Whew!" Scooby sighed, relieved that the drama was all over. As they all headed down the passageway, Velma realized something.

"Uh, guys? How exactly am I going to leave the cave? The only exit is underwater."

"That's a good point." Fred said, "We probably should have thought of that when we rented the scuba gear."

"I did!" Shaggy said with a grin. "Your scuba gear is, like, right by the exit."

"You certainly are my hero today, Shaggy!" Velma told him.

"Aww, like, don't mention it," Shaggy said, blushing. They smiled at each other. Considering the events of that night, it was incredible how calm they all were. In fact, they were acting almost like it was just a normal day. Of course, for the five of them, that day wasn'tmuch different than any other. For two years, they had been solving mysteries, running into all sorts of monsters. The only real difference was that, for the first time, one of **them** had been behind it. Not that Velma had had any choice in the matter. Shaggy and Fred seemed to be holding onto her for dear life, as she would get possessed again if they let go. Fred's arm was around her shoulder, pulling her to his side, and Shaggy grasped her hand so tightly that it was turning white. As they got to the way out, they finally had to release her.

"It's a good thing we reached the exit, because I was beginning to lose feeling in my hand." Velma joked, looking at Shaggy.

"Sorry 'bout that." He said.

"It's alright" Velma laughed, grabbing her scuba gear. What followed was what felt like an incredibly long pause that in reality only lasted for a short time. Finally, it was Daphne who broke the silence.

"It's pretty safe to say that this is one of our scarier mysteries."

"Rou can ray rat again!" Scooby said.

"And you are absolutely positive that the moonstones are destroyed?" Velma asked Shaggy.

"Yep! I, like, saw Scoob smash 'em with my own eyes." Shaggy replied. Velma smiled, grateful that they would never have to deal with Wanda Grubwort again.


	2. Waking Up Is Hard To Do

As Daphne's alarm clock went off, she was woken from a very deep sleep. Three days had passed since the night at the cave, and a lot had already happened. They had given Old Man Frickert the ten thousand dollars to fix his barn, and after a meeting with some attorneys, the gang had officially incorporated, other than that, things were fairly normal. They had taken the last few days off, but figured that they should get back to work, considering the incredible amount of new members. This was why the alarm clock in the girls' cabin went off at 5:30 that morning. Daphne still wasn't quite used to her alarm clock not being right next to her bed, and fell off of the top bunk trying to turn it off in her half asleep daze, landing on the floor with a loud thud.

"Now I see why Fred calls me Danger-Prone Daphne." She muttered. "Well, we better get ready for work. Come on Velma!" Using the dresser to pull herself up off the floor, she walked over to the closet to get her uniform. After a few minutes she noticed that something was missing. She couldn't tell quite what it was, but it was definitely something. "Hey, Velma?" she began, turning around, wondering if she had noticed it too. That was when she realized what it was: Velma was nowhere to be seen.

"V-Velma?" She stuttered. "Are you there?" When there was no answer, Daphne feared the worst. Starting to panic, she looked around frantically. That was when she saw the bed. There was a big lump under the covers on the bottom bunk. "No, that can't be it!" she said to herself. Velma always was an early riser, typically waking up even before the sound of the alarm clock. Daphne figured that there was practically no way that Velma could have slept through both the alarm **and** the loud thud of her falling out of bed. But sure enough, when Daphne lifted the blanket up, there she was, sound asleep. "Velma?" she whispered, giving her shoulder a slight prod. Nothing. "Velma?" she tried again, this time a little bit louder and shaking her a tad. When even that failed, she let out a sigh of frustration. She didn't have all day. "Velma, wake up already!" she shouted, shaking her as hard as she could. That did it. Velma's eyes shot open, and she sat up so abruptly that she hit her head on the top bunk.

"Jinkies, that hurt!" she said, rubbing her forehead.

"Sorry!" Daphne said.

"No worries." Velma replied, grabbing her glasses off of the bedside table. "What time is it?"

"About 5:50." Daphne said.

At the sound of that, Velma shot out of bed.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" she asked "We have to get ready! Our shifts begin in ten minutes!"

"Take your time, Vel. I'll cover for you. I'm sure Uncle Thorny will understand."

"Thanks, Daph." Velma said, letting out a relieved sigh.

"No problem." She said. "See you in a little bit!"

"Okay. I'll be out as quick as I can." Velma replied with a yawn.

"And don't go back to sleep!" Daphne said jokingly as she opened the door.

"I won't!" Velma laughed.

Daphne laughed along as she walked out the door, but she couldn't help but wonder how much truth there was in that statement. Velma had been so tired for the last few days that Daphne wouldn't have been surprised if she had collapsed onto the bed and went back to sleep the second the door was closed.


	3. A Loss For Words

When Daphne got to the pavilion, Fred was already there.

"Hey, Daph!" he said

"Hi, Fred!" she replied.

"Where's Velma?" he asked, noticing her unusual absence.

"She overslept."

"Yeah, sure. Seriously, though, where is she?" Fred laughed.

"I'm not joking!" Daphne said.

"Really?" Fred asked. Daphne nodded.

"Hey, like, where's V?" they heard from behind them.

"Would you believe it? She overslept!" Fred said.

"Seriously?"

"Yep." Daphne replied.

"Oh, here she comes!" Fred said. They all turned to see her walking up behind them, yawning.

"Hi, guys. Sorry that I kept you waiting."

"Like, no problem!"

"You look really worn out." Fred pointed out.

"Indeed. People don't typically consider the effects of possession on one's body, considering how infrequently it occurs, and the exceptionally small amount of people who believe in its existence. But, when it actually does take place, it is incredible how draining it truly is."

"Not to mention that Wanda Grubwort had you up all night searching for moonstones." Daphne added.

"Like, you actually understood that, Daph?" Shaggy asked. They all laughed.

"Let's just say I'm really tired." Velma clarified.

"Well, I knew **that**!" he said with a chuckle.

"Well, if you need to take a break at any point, just let me know and I'll cover for you." Fred said.

"Thanks, Freddie."

"No problem."

With that, they all started to head to their stations.

"Hey kids, where are you going?" they heard from behind them.

"We're working, Uncle Thorny. This is kind of our job." Daphne replied.

"Oh, please. You kids have done enough work for me. Relax. Enjoy the club."

"Like, you mean we have free memberships?" Shaggy asked.

"In a word: yes."

"But sir-" Velma began to object.

"No, I insist!"

"Yeah, Velms, he insists!" Fred said, giving her a nudge.

"Well, I've got some very important business to take care of. You kids have fun!"

"Thanks, Uncle Thorny!" Daphne shouted after him as he walked away.

"Like, I guess you got out of bed for nothing, V!" Shaggy joked.

"Ha ha" She replied sarcastically. "I'm still going to work, you know."

"What?" Fred asked.

"The reason that Daphne's uncle is letting us off of work is for solving the mystery, but considering the fact that I was technically the source of the problem and was of absolutely no assistance to you in putting a stop to it-"

"Let me stop you right there." Fred interrupted. "You were not the problem. Wanda Grubwort was. She just happened to be causing the trouble through you, because you were unfortunate enough to find the moonstone on the beach. With so many people on this land nowadays, if you hadn't gotten possessed, someone else would have, so don't you dare go blaming this on yourself."

"But-"

"And if I remember correctly, you actually led us to finding a ton of clues. Not to mention the fact that if you hadn't broken Wanda Grubwort's control, then the problem would not only have remained unsolved, but the country club would have closed, the town would have fleed, and Wanda Grubwort would have had her revenge. But none of those things happened because you were strong enough to fight back. You had a bigger part in solving this mystery then any one of us. Don't ever doubt that."

Velma smiled at him, finding herself at a loss for words for the first time in her life.

"Now go get some rest." Fred said quietly, "You deserve it."


	4. The Pool

Later that day, Fred and Daphne were swimming in the pool, Shaggy and Scooby sitting close by reading comic books and magazines, and, of course, eating.

"Come on, Shag, get in! The water's fine!" Fred yelled.

"But, you're like, not supposed to go swimming right after you eat, man!"

"That's just a rumor!" Fred argued.

"Yeah, like, try telling that to my Uncle Joey!"

"What happened to your Uncle Joey?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing. He just really believes it."

"Okay, well are you coming in or not?" Daphne asked.

"Like, I guess I can come in." he replied, taking his shirt off. "I **am** wearing my bathing suit already."

"Why?" Fred asked

"I'm like, all out of clean shorts." Shaggy replied. Before anyone could respond, Shaggy sprinted towards the pool. He jumped, shouting: "Cannonball!" and hitting the water with a huge splash. He popped up and shook his head like a dog, soaking Fred and Daphne even more. Daphne retaliated by playfully splashing water into his face. When he tried to do the same, Daphne ducked under and Fred got hit with the wave. Soon, It was a full-out splashing war. No one could even see through the wall of water, but they kept splashing, anyway, as if they were trying to literally soak each other to the bone. Scooby looked down from his _Dog Fancy_ magazine and wagged his tail. Wanting to get in on the action, he ran to the edge of the pool, and jumped right into the middle of the action.

"Rahoo!" he shouted, penetrating the water with a larger splash then any of the others combined. As his head popped up, they all started laughing.

"Okay, Scoob! Like, you win!" Shaggy chuckled.

"Jinkies, Scooby! You got me drenched!" they heard from behind them.

"Hey, Velms!" Fred exclaimed. "Feeling a little less tired now that you've had some rest?"

"Slightly. The three cups of coffee didn't hurt, either." She chuckled.

"Want to join us?" He asked.

"Why not? I'm already wet, anyway." She said with a glance at Scooby.

"Rorry."

"No worries." She said. "Let me get my bathing suit, and I'll be back as quickly as I can!" She pranced back towards her cabin.

"**She** seems to be feeling better." Daphne said.

"That's for sure!" Shaggy agreed.

"Thank goodness!" Fred replied. "I was starting to worry about her!"

"I think we all were!" Daphne said.

"Like, you got **that **right!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"Well, she seems fine for now, but we'd better keep a close eye on her." Fred said. "She said herself that she'd had quite a bit of coffee, so chances are; she's not as energetic as she appears."

"Good point." Shaggy replied.

"I feel bad for her." Daphne said. "She's been through a lot in the last week."

"Indeed, but fortunately all of that is over now."

"Zoinks! Like, you got to stop sneaking up on us like that, Velms!"

"Sorry."

"Like, no problem."

"Come on in, Velmster!" Fred exclaimed.

"Okay, but you probably should stop the horseplay. This **is** a country club after all. I don't think that Daphne's uncle would approve if he found out."

"Oh, don't worry, Vel!" Daphne replied. "The club isn't even open to the public yet. The re-opening reception is tonight!"

"Oh, very well." Velma said.

"Rannonball!" They heard from behind them, getting splashed with a huge wave of water.

"I just hope that the members of the club don't mind all the dog hair in the pool." Fred laughed. Scooby popped his head out from under the water and smiled.

"Scooby-Dooby-Doo!"


	5. The Reception

"Senator! I'm so glad you could make it." Daphne's uncle exclaimed.

"Only because you promised that this wouldn't be like the **last** reception."

"Yes, don't worry. My niece and her friends made sure that we won't have to deal with the monster again."

"Are you sure that I can put my trust in a couple of kids?" she asked uncertainly.

"Of course! I would trust those kids with my** life** if I had to. And here they are now!" he said, looking towards the gang, who were entering the tent.

"Hi, Uncle Thorny!" Daphne exclaimed.

"So you are the famous detectives that I've heard so much about."

"Like, we're famous?" Shaggy asked.

"Not literally. It's merely a figure of speech" Velma chuckled.

"Kids, I'd like you to meet Senator Evangeline Rhodes."

"Hi, I'm-" Shaggy began.

"Wait, let me guess…" She said, looking them over and pointing to them individually as she said their names. "Velma Dinkley, Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Scooby-Doo, and Norville Rogers, better known as Shaggy."

"Zoinks! Like, she really knows us well!"

"I do indeed. Thornton here has told me everything about you kids."

"Everything?" Daphne asked.

"Yet another figure of speech, Daph." Velma said.

"Well, I mean about the mystery, you know, what happened." Daphne replied.

"Oh, right. That." Velma said, suddenly getting very quiet and fidgety.

"I suppose you are worried that I'll hold the monster attacks against you?" The senator asked.

"Slightly. It **was** technically my fau-" She began, but stopped abruptly once she saw the look that Fred was giving her. "Well, it technically **was** me behind it, though I didn't actually have a choice in the matter and strongly regret picking up the moonstone that contained the witch's spirit. If I had known what would happen, I obviously wouldn't have done so, considering that it led to my possession." She corrected herself hastily, "I merely fear that due to the fact that the witch committed these dastardly endeavors through my body, people who witnessed what took place will be under the false impression that I was behind the attacks."

"Well, don't worry about that. I have made sure that everyone in town is aware that you not only weren't behind the attacks, but actually stopped the witch from causing any further damage." The senator comforted her.

"Thank you ma'am, but I can't take all of the credit. Shaggy here deserves an enormous quantity of gratitude, as well."

"Like, I don't know what that means, but thanks!"

"You're welcome, Shaggy." She laughed.

"So, what are you kids going to do now that the mystery is solved?"

"Well, our plan is just to relax and enjoy the rest of the summer, but that never really seems to work out." Fred replied.

"Yeah, we like, always seem to run into some sort of monster, wherever we go."

"Reah, rit's rary!"

"Yes Scooby, it's scary, but it's all worth it." Daphne said.

"Indeed. There isn't a better feeling in the world then finding a clue that tells you exactly who is behind a crime."

"Well maybe it tells you, Velms, but the rest of us don't usually figure it out until the unmasking." Fred replied.

"Reah, rou're really smart, Rhelma."

"Thanks, Scooby."

"Rou're relcome."

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's getting pretty late, and I don't want to be rude to the other guests by talking to you kids all night."

"Sorry, Uncle Thorny, we lost track of time."

"No worries, Daphne. Now, come on, I want to introduce you to some people." He led them towards a group if people gathered in a circle.

"This is my good friend Amelia Johnson. She owns an oil company not too far from here." He gestured to a blonde lady in a red dress.

"Hello." Daphne greeted her. She waved back.

"This is Mr. Joseph Ericson. He used to own the land, until I bought it and built the club." He pointed at a middle aged man with graying hair and a comb-over.

"And what a fine investment it was on your part." He said.

"You already know the lighthouse keeper, Elmer Uggins."

"Like, hey Elmer!" Shaggy said.

"Hey, kids." He replied. "Is it true what I heard about the witch?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Velma replied.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard it. I thought that those settlers had hidden the stones better than they did. Probably should have let you know."

"No, it would have been too late, anyways." Daphne replied. "By the time we met you, Velma had already been possessed for an hour."

"Wait, you're the kids that defeated the monster?" they heard from behind them.

"They are indeed, Joe." Daphne's uncle replied.

"What do you mean by monster, Thornton?" Amelia asked.

"You didn't hear? There was a lake monster that attacked the club. Luckily, these kids got rid of both the monster and the witch that was controlling it." He said

"I didn't hear about it. Interesting." She replied. "So you were possessed by this witch?" She asked Velma.

"Indeed."

"What was that like?"

"Well, I don't fully remember everything that happened. Much of it is merely a blur in my memory."

"Like, maybe you lost your glasses." Shaggy laughed.

"I wouldn't be surprised, but I don't believe that that's it."

"I don't know. You **do** tend to have trouble keeping your glasses on your face." Fred said. "You know, you really should consider contact lenses."

"My son has the same problem." Amelia said. "He's just about blind without his glasses, but he constantly loses them."

"What's your son's name?" Daphne asked.

"James." She replied. "He's actually around your age. He just got a job at the club."

"Is he here?" Fred asked.

"Yes, he's right over there." She said, gesturing towards the other side of the tent. His back was turned, so they couldn't quite make out what he looked like. "James!" she called out. He turned around, and they were able to get a good look at him. He had chin-length brown hair and big brown eyes that shone even behind his glasses, which, like Velma's, took up a large portion of his face. He slowly walked towards them with a large smile.

"You called, Mother?"

"Yes. This is the owner's niece and her friends. Apparently, the club would have closed if it wasn't for them."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yep!" Daphne replied. "I'm Daphne. My uncle mentioned you once or twice. I hear that you're in your first year of college?"

"Indeed. I've been studying robotics. I actually learned how to make some fairly advanced gadgets. I hope to someday work for NASA."

"That's really impressive. I'm Fred. I'm kind of the unofficial leader of the group."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Fred."

"And, like, I'm Norville, but most people just call me Shaggy. I'm guessing that you can figure out why."

"Indeed. And you?" he asked Velma.

"W-what?"

"What is your name?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Velma."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Velma."

"Me, too. I-I mean it's a pleasure to meet **you** too." She said. Fred and Daphne exchanged glances, noticing how flustered and un-Velma-like she was acting. "I'm sorry, I 'm not quite myself today." She said, backing into a table and knocking over someone's drink, staining the white tablecloth. James laughed.

"Okay, we'd better be going." Fred said. "It's getting pretty late, and Velma gets klutzy when she's tired." _And when she likes someone. _He thought. He proceeded to grab Velma's hand and lead her towards her cabin.

"This reception went much better than the last one, don't you think?" Daphne asked.

"Reah." Scooby agreed.

"Well, like Elmer said, if the settlers had hidden the moonstones better, then the first one wouldn't have been bad at all." Shaggy said.

"Wait a second," Velma said, stopping in her tracks. "If the settlers picked up the moonstones as well, then how come none of them got possessed?"


	6. A Big Surprise

The next day, the gang went to the library to find the answer to Velma's question. While Velma looked through old newspapers for helpful articles, Fred and Daphne browsed the books. Shaggy and Scooby, who lacked the other three's curiosity, were looking through the cookbooks for new recipes to try out.

"Well, there's no doubt about it. The settlers definitely picked up the moonstones, and absolutely nothing happened to any of them." Velma told the others.

"Maybe they had gloves on or something." Fred suggested

"While that** is** a clever idea, it is highly unlikely that every person who handled the moonstones would be sporting protective clothing if they were unaware of the fact that the stones contained the witch's spirit." Velma replied.

"Good point." Fred agreed. "But there's got to be **some** logical explanation."

"Well, **I** haven't found anything." Velma said. "Have you had any luck?"

"Nope." Fred replied.

"There's only one section that we haven't searched yet." Daphne said. "If there's going to be anything useful, it will be in there."

"I guess there's no harm in looking." Fred replied. They searched the shelf, looking carefully at every book, but still found nothing.

"Maybe this is one mystery that will remain unsolved." Velma said with a sigh. "There is next to nothing about this town on the internet, and apparently, no local information available, either."

"At least, none that we need." Fred added.

"Uhh, guys?" they heard from two aisles down. "Like, you might want to take a look at this." They walked over to find Shaggy holding a tattered, dusty, old book that looked like it hadn't been read in a long time.

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed. "That book appears as if it was written way back when the town was founded."

"It doesn't even have a title." Fred pointed out.

"I wonder why?" Daphne wondered.

"Well, that's because it's like, some dude's journal. Here, look." Shaggy replied, handing it to Velma.

"Double jinkies!" She exclaimed.

"What?" Fred asked.

"This journal belonged to Wanda Grubwort's son!"

"Seriously?" Daphne asked.

"Indeed. This is exactly what we need! Where did you find it, Shaggy?"

"Like, it was on the shelf with all the cookbooks."

"Someone must have lazily thrown it in **there**, instead of the right section." Daphne said.

"I don't think so, Daph." Velma said.

"What do you mean?" Fred asked. "It definitely doesn't belong with the cookbooks."

"Yes, but there's no call number. This journal does not belong to the library. Someone must have put it here on purpose."

"But who would put it here, and why?" Daphne asked.

"There's only one person who would own this journal, and that person knows enough about us to be aware that Shaggy and Scooby would go into this aisle." Velma said.

"Hilda Trowburg!" Fred replied. Velma nodded.

"She probably realized that we would be curious, and put this where she knew that we would find it." Daphne said.

"Well, then let's like, read it!" Shaggy exclaimed. Velma flipped the page and began to read aloud:

"_I fear that I don't have much time left. Food is scarce, but my sister Alice and I know better than to leave the cave. The villagers are unaware of our existence for now, but if we are discovered, then we are done for. We have spent countless hours observing them: destroying our mother's staff and scattering the stones that gave it such power. Alice wishes to reassemble it, but I know that continuing our mother's work will only lead to our deaths, especially if the moonstones are involved."_

"Wait. Like, what does this have to do with why the villagers didn't get possessed?" Shaggy interrupted.

"I'm getting to it. You have to be more patient, Shaggy" Velma said. "Here, I'll skip ahead." She proceeded to flip to a page near the end of the journal.

"_I tried to tell myself that we wouldn't be discovered, but in retrospect, it was inevitable. It was a young child that found us, a girl of no more than ten years of age. Obviously sharing the curiosity that Alice and I exhibited when we were merely children, this girl happened upon our cave and felt the need to explore. Upon finding us, she rushed to her mother and father to alert them. They know of our mother, and are likely fully aware that she resided in this cave. It won't take much thought for them to figure out that we are her offspring, and soon, the entire village will be aware of our existence. The only way to survive will be to flee and change our names. Alice believes that merely spelling our last name backwards will be enough to avoid the consequences for what our mother has done, and she will likely do exactly that. I, on the other hand, do not believe that it will do much good to merely go from Grubwort to Trowburg, and am sure that we need to change our names completely to guarantee our safety. Unfortunately, Alice won't relent. She insists on changing as little as possible, but I do not believe that it is the safe thing to do. Therefore, while she resides here, I will move as far away as possible under the name Alexander Mason. I will leave this journal in a small crevice in the cave wall, and by the time it is discovered, I will be long gone."_

"Well, that isn't much help." Daphne said. "I feel bad for the guy, though."

"Maybe it **was** helpful, and we just have to look deeper to understand what it means." Fred suggested.

"Like, what do you think, V?" Shaggy asked. They all turned to Velma, only to see that she had gone completely pale.

"V-Velma? You okay?" Daphne asked. Velma nodded, her eyes wide, and flipped back to the first passage that she had read.

"What is it, Velms?" Fred asked.

"I knew that this sounded suspicious: _I know that continuing our mother's work will only lead to our deaths, especially if the moonstones are involved._"

"Rhat's **rhat** got to do rith anything?" Scooby asked.

"Don't you get it? **'Especially if the moonstones are involved.'** If either of **them** picked up the moonstones, then they would have gotten possessed, but the villagers wouldn't! At first I assumed that it was a fluke, that he had merely worded it that way, but now it is obvious that he meant **exactly** what he said!"

"What are you talking about, Velms?" Fred asked.

"At that time, those two were the only ones that would have gotten possessed from picking up the moonstones."

"Then why did **you** get possessed?" Daphne asked.

"That was why I questioned my idea when I first read it, but once I saw that he changed his last name to Mason, I realized that it was the only logical answer."

"Like, why?" Shaggy asked. Velma took a deep breath.

"Because Mason is my mother's maiden name." she replied.

"Wait a second. If that's the case, then **that **means that…" Fred began.

"**I'm** one of Wanda Grubwort's descendants."


	7. Another Mystery

A few days later, it was beginning to feel normal. And not just Mystery Inc. normal, but **regular** normal. Of course, Velma was shaken up, but even **she** calmed down after a while. There were even more members of the club than there had been at the beginning of the summer, which was significantly more comfortable for the gang then its previous vacancy. But, even **they** knew that it couldn't possibly stay so calm for long.

"Okay, this is like, **so** not our typical summer." Shaggy said, taking a sip of a strawberry smoothie.

"Yeah, well Velma **did** get possessed by her evil ancestor and sent a bunch of giant mutant frog monsters on us." Fred said. "Other than that, it was fairly normal."

"Actually, considering that this is **us** we're talking about, I think that Velma getting possessed **was** the fairly normal part." Daphne said. "The whole ancestor thing was a surprise, but other than that, we're **kinda** used to it."

"Good point." Fred agreed.

"Well, fortunately things have begun to calm down." Velma said. "Even for **us**, the summer got off to a bit of a rocky sta-hi, James!" Daphne and Fred exchanges glances, trying not to laugh at Velma's uncharacteristic distractedness around the college student.

"Hey, Velma." He replied. "Listen, I'm in a bit of a hurry, but I'll talk to you guys later, okay?"

"Alright, see you." Daphne said as he jogged away. "Hey Vel, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh, sure." She replied. Daphne grabbed her hand and pulled her out of anyone else's hearing range.

"So, tell me about James."

"That's what this is about? It's no big deal."

"Oh, yes it is! I've never seen you with a **crush** on someone before! Well, except for during our** first** mystery."

"What do you mean? I didn't have a **crush** on anyone back then."

"Oh, come on! By the end of it, there wasn't a **second** that went by when you weren't all goo-goo eyed over Fred."

"What? I did **not **have a crush on Fred!"

"Yeah, you did."

"No, I did **not**!"

"Velma, you told me yourself."

"What? When?"

"Remember when we were talking about boys, and you were saying that it would be kind of nice to have a boyfriend and then you were all like: 'What about Fred? He's pretty cute, right?'"

"I did say that, didn't I?"

"I win!"

"Fine, so I had feelings for Fred! But I don't anymore, so don't you go telling him about it!"

"Trust me, **he knows**. It was **pretty** obvious."

"As it always seems to be when I like a boy."

"Anyway, it's great that James works at the club, right? Now you can see him aaalll the tiiime" she said in a singsongy voice.

"I guess so."

"What do you mean, you **guess** so? You like him, don't you?"

"Yes, definitely, but you saw me at the reception! I made a complete fool of myself."

"It wasn't **that** bad!"

"Only because Fred pulled me away."

"Well, I'm sure that he'll get over his first impression of you. You seemed fine just now."

"He wasn't even there for a full minute! I can almost guarantee that I will be just as foolish as I was at the reception every time I go near him!" Velma exclaimed. Daphne started laughing. "What?" Velma inquired.

"I'm just thinking about how you bumped into the table and knocked over that guy's drink. Uncle Thorny had a cow, you know."

"Yes, I know. I would as well, if someone stained a tablecloth that I had spent **that **much money on!"

"How do you know how much it cost?"

"I couldn't seem to get the stain out, so I had to buy him a new one."

"There's Uncle Thorny for you." Daphne laughed.

"Well, otherwise, he seems fairly generous."

"Only because we saved the club. Trust me, if we hadn't, then he wouldn't be **half** as easy on us."

"Maybe that would be a good thing; I can't imagine that Scooby's fur was easy to get out of the pool."

"Oh, don't worry about that! The pool has just about the best filter in the world. It was probably fur-free within **minutes** of Scooby getting out."

"Jinkies, that's impressive."

"Yeah. Uncle Thorny prepared for just about everything that could possibly go wrong. Well, except for lake monster attacks."

"I don't believe that any of us were prepared for **that**." Velma replied.

"Yeah. By the way, how are you doing?"

"I'm okay. The boys haven't been treating me quite the same since…you know…what happened."

"And it probably didn't help learning…well…you know."

"Yeah. Fred's kind of gone into his big-brother mode, which is sweet, but it just doesn't feel quite the same."

"And what about Shaggy?"

"Well, with him, it's fairly complicated. Considering his previous infatuation with me and what we recently learned about my ancestry, I don't believe that he knows whether to be incredibly close, or utterly terrified of me."

"That definitely sounds like Shaggy." Daphne replied. Velma nodded.

"Hopefully this will all simmer down eventually."

"I think it will. Fred has always been protective of the two of us, even before what happened. I think that it's only noticeable because it's to a greater extent than before. After time goes by, he'll probably back off a little."

"Good point, Daph."

"Thanks."

"What about Shaggy?"

"Well, knowing Shaggy, he probably thinks that you're a witch or something."

"What on earth do you mean? I may be a descendant of Wanda Grubwort, but she only could perform magic through her staff."

"Do you really think that **Shaggy** will realize that?"

"No, but I highly doubt that he would assume that I'm a witch."

"Either way, he also knows that you're his friend, and he probably has no idea what on earth to think of you."

"Indeed. Hopefully, he'll eventually realize that I'm still the same old Velma."

"He will. You're one of his best friends! Heck, you and him kissed!"

"And we both agreed that there was no chemistry whatsoever. Even if there had been, it likely wouldn't last for long. He has slight dog issues."

"Dog issues?"

"Yes. When Shaggy gets together with a girl, Scooby Doo gets incredibly jealous. When he and I were on that date, Scooby attempted to sabotage it."

"How?"

"I don't completely remember, due to Wanda Grubwort taking over merely a few **minutes** after Scooby came in, and the fact that until then, I was without my glasses. I believe that he disguised himself as a waiter, but that's all that I really can recall."

"Wow."

"Indeed."

"You **really** lose your glasses a lot." Daphne laughed.

"That's what you got out of that?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Well, I suppose Fred's right. I **do** need to consider contact lenses." She said. They both started laughing. Suddenly, they heard a scream. Rushing to find the source, the girls ran towards the pool to find a hysterical young woman in a bathing suit.

"What's wrong?" Daphne inquired.

"There has been an animal in the pool!" she replied, brushing a strand of wet, blonde hair behind her ear. They heard rapid footsteps, and turned to see the boys running towards them.

"What's going on?" Fred asked anxiously.

"This lady says that there has been an animal in the pool."

"But, Daph, you said that the filter should have gotten all of Scooby's fur out of the pool!"

"It did! I was swimming just this morning!"

"Hey Scoob, like, have you been swimming lately?" Shaggy asked.

"Ro. Ri was rith you rall day."

"How do you know that there has been an animal in the pool?" Velma inquired, trying not to roll her eyes at how uptight the woman was about something that she wouldn't think twice about.

"The footprints!" She replied.

"What footprints?" Fred asked.

"Those footprints!" She shouted, pointing towards the side of the pool. The gang turned towards where she was pointing, not expecting much. When they saw what she was indicating, however, their eyes widened. Velma slowly walked closer, speechless, with her mouth wide open. After studying them for a while, she finally spoke.

"Uhh…guys?" She asked, her voice shaking. "Th-these aren't w-what I think they are…a-are they?"

"I hope not…" Fred replied. "Th-they almost look like…" he paused. Everyone knew what he was going to say, but no one said anything. It was almost was as if not saying it would make it not true. Eventually, Daphne took a deep breath and said out loud what they all were thinking:

"Lake monster tracks."

"B-but that's impossible!" Velma objected. "Shaggy said that the moonstones were all destroyed!"

"And even if they weren't, there isn't anyone who could be controlling it!" Fred added. "Only Wanda Grubwort's descendants can get possessed, and there are only two in the whole town, neither of which could have possibly gotten possessed because neither has been at the club alone recently!"

"Even if they were, like, why would the lake monster be in the pool, instead of the lake?" Shaggy asked.

"Well gang," Fred said hesitantly, "I think we have another mystery on our hands."


	8. Reasoning and Hotdog Eating

**Here's the new chapter! Sorry for the hiatus, I was having some serious writer's block. But, now I finally finished chapter 8. Enjoy!**

Velma paced back and forth, trying to think of a logical explanation.

"Maybe someone had oddly shaped swim fins?" She offered.

"Velma, you've said that five times already." Daphne said. "You know perfectly well that swim fins and flotation devices aren't allowed in the pool!"

"Why?"

"The same reason I told you five minutes ago!"

"I know, I know."

"Then why do you keep asking?"

"I don't know." She answered quietly, sitting down and putting her hand on her head.

"You okay?"

"I guess so. I'm just afraid-"

"That it's you again?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, Velma. Even if that **is** the case, you know what it's like, so you'd be able to tell this time."

"Being able to recognize if I'm possessed isn't necessarily going to be of any help, Daphne."

"Well, the fact that you used necessarily in that sentence is a good sign. You've been using so many small words lately that I was starting to get worried."

"Very funny." Velma said sarcastically.

"But, seriously. I'm sure you have nothing to be scared about."

"Easy for **you **to say!"

"Come on, Vel! You've barely even left our sights since what happened!"

"That doesn't mean that I couldn't have gotten possessed! The first time, Shaggy was right there with me!"

"Well, at that point, we didn't even know who Wanda Grubwort was. Trust me Vel; we have nothing to worry about."

"Well, if I'm not possessed, then who is?"

"I don't know. It's probably not Hilda Trowburg, though we can't completely count her out. Or maybe Wanda Grubwort has other descendants living in town."

"Maybe we should ask Mrs. Trowburg. Surely she would know!"

"Yeah! If anyone would know, she would. Oh, and don't call me Shirley!"

"Wait…what?"

Meanwhile, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby were all by the pool. They had all been studying the tracks at first, but Shaggy and Scooby had gotten hungry and sat down to eat a hotdog. Therefore, Fred was now doing all of the work.

"Are you guys almost done?" he asked.

"Fred, by now you should know that you can't like, rush Scoob and I when we're eating."

"Reah." Scooby agreed.

"Besides, like, if I come to help, then he'll take my hotdog."

"Rou got **rhat** right!" Scooby said with a chuckle.

"Dude, you've been looking at that thing for like, fifteen minutes already! I don't think anything is going to happen." Shaggy said.

"Well, I'm not** expecting** anything to happen! I'm just trying to figure out whether it's real or not." Fred replied.

"I hope it's not!"

"Same here. Not that I don't think we could handle it if it** is** real. I just hope that it's phony for Velma's sake."

"Yeah. She was like, really freaked out when she saw these tracks."

"Why **wouldn't** she be after what she went through?"

"Reah. I rouldn't imagine rhat happening to re!" Scooby agreed.

"You said it, Scoob." Fred replied.

"Hey, guys!" They heard from behind them.

"Hey girls!" Fred replied, turning to face them.

"Daphne and I were thinking about going to Trowburg's to ask Hilda a few questions. Would you guys be interested in accompanying us?" Velma asked.

"Sure, why not?" Shaggy replied.

"I'm down." Fred said with a nod.

"Ran we ret ice cream?" Scooby asked.

"Sure, Scoob. We can get ice cream." Daphne replied.

"RI'm in!" He exclaimed. With that, they headed towards the Mystery Machine.


	9. Breaking Point

"Hello? Mrs. Trowburg?" Daphne called out as they walked into the general store.

"Well, hello kids!" Hilda said, popping up behind the counter. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, Mrs. Trowburg-" Velma began.

"Please sweetie, call me Hilda."

"Uh, a-alright…Hilda. Well, we have discovered some evidence that the lake monster may have returned, and if **that's** the case, then that would mean-"

"That Wanda Grubwort is back, too." Daphne finished.

"Yes. Thank you, Daph. Anyway, we were wondering if"

"I know any more of her descendants in town?" Hilda interrupted.

"Yeah." Fred replied.

"Unfortunately, no. All of the others that I know live fairly far away from here."

"Wait," Velma said nervously. "That means that if Wanda Grubwort is really back, then it's got to be either **you** or **me**."

"Yes, that appears to be the case. Have you had any conformation that Wanda Grubwort has indeed returned?" Hilda asked.

"Not exactly. Hopefully, what we saw was just some kid trying to pull a prank or something." Fred replied.

"Yeah, but if it's not, then what do we do?" Daphne asked.

"Well, I guess you would just have to do the same thing that you did before." Hilda replied.

"But like, what freed Velma before was all stuff that involved me liking her, but we kissed after everything and agreed that we didn't have any chemistry."

"Well, you'll just have to find a different way to get through to her."

"But what if-" Daphne began.

"Okay, you know what?" Velma snapped. "We don't even know that the witch is back, so could we **please **just stop talking about it?"

"But what if you-" Fred tried to argue.

"What if I what? What if I'm **possessed**? You know what? This may come as a surprise to you, but** I don't know! **None of us know **anything** about this! We don't even know if she's actually back! And frankly, I don't want to sit around here and talk about what to do about it just because you **instantly** assume that I'm possessed again, **Freddie**!"

"Well, all this yelling is making you seem rather suspicious, **Velma**!" Fred said.

"Well **excuse** me for getting angry that you guys instantly start pointing fingers with little to no evidence whatsoever!"

"Velma we're just scared that-" Shaggy began.

"Oh, **you're** scared, huh? And did it ever** occur** to you that maybe **I'm** scared, too? You're not the one who got **possessed**, Shaggy! You don't** know** what I went through!"

"Well, it didn't seem to be that big of a problem to you before!" Daphne said.

"Yes, because I didn't want you guys to worry about me! You want the truth?** Fine**! You know how I've been tired all the time, and keep saying that it's because I'm all **worn out? **That's nothing but a **lie**. I'm incredibly tired because I can't even go to** sleep** at night because I'm completely** petrified** about what happened and **even more afraid** that it will happen again!"

"W-what?" Fred asked.

"Yeah." Velma replied with a shudder, taking a deep breath. "I'm constantly exhausted, but I can't even close my eyes without having a panic attack or something. I have to keep busy, because that's the only thing to keep me from thinking about it. But now that the monster may be back, being busy **means** thinking about it, and now it looks like it all **might** happen again, and you guys keep talking about it, i-it's just really freaking me out."

"I'm sorry, Velma. W-we didn't know." Daphne said.

"It's okay. Honestly, I would probably do the same thing in your shoes. I'm just…"

"Just what?" Shaggy asked.

"I'm just so afraid that…" She said weakly before falling silent, closing her tear-filled eyes.

"Hey, come here." Fred said softly, holding out his arms and giving her a hug. "It's going to be okay."

"How do you know?" she said into his shoulder in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"Because this is** you** we're talking about. You are the strongest person I've ever met." He replied quietly. "You've gotten through so much already, and you **will **get through this. And I'll be right there by your side the whole time."

"You promise?" Velma uttered.

"I promise." He said, hugging her even more tightly. Ever since the moment he met her, Velma had essentially kept a brave face in troubling situations; sometimes even better than** he** did, so seeing her so vulnerable and frightened was absolutely heartbreaking to him. "And besides, you said yourself that we have no proof that Wanda Grubwort's really back. Plus, even if she **is**, there's no guarantee that it's you this time."

"Yes, I suppose that it **is** fairly ridiculous for me to be so petrified about something with such minimal evidence supporting it." She said, stepping back.

"It's not ridiculous. What happened to you was serious. You were right, we've been taking it much too lightly." Fred replied.

"No, I was overreacting; you were only trying to help. I'm sorry that I yelled at you guys. I was just upset, and scared, and tired, and I just needed to just get it all out, you know?

"Like, you don't need to apologize, V." Shaggy said.

"Yeah." Fred added. "Don't beat yourself up over this. It was our fault. We didn't realize just how scary all of this is to you. Just always remember that we're here for you, okay?"

"Forever and always." Daphne added.

"I love you guys so much." Velma said.

"Re love you too, Rhelma!" Scooby said.

"Well gang," She said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "If we're going to solve this mystery, we'd better get back to the club and search for clues."

"That's my girl." Fred chuckled, following her towards the door.

"Oh, and Hilda, I almost forgot, like, thanks for putting the book in the library." Shaggy said.

"I'm sorry; I don't know what you're talking about. I never put any book in the library."


End file.
